Many different structures are known in the prior art for discharging shower water sprays and massage water flows. For example only, many different hand held water discharge devices widely marketed through plumbing and hardware stores by various manufacturers are capable of selectively discharging either a continuous or pulsating shower spray. Other devices, primarily powered by electric pumps for use in hydrotherapy water tubs, are available for discharging water streams for impacting and massaging a user's body, e.g., the HYDROWAND marketed by HydroAir Industries, Inc. of Orange, Calif.
Still other devices for discharging water streams for massaging a user's body are disclosed in Applicants' following U.S. patents and the references cited therein:
______________________________________ 4,679,258 4,731,887 4,689,839 4,763,367 4,692,950 4,813,086 4,715,071 4,825,854 4,726,080 4,965,893 4,727,605 4,982,459 ______________________________________
The foregoing patents primarily disclose electric pump powered assemblies intended for mounting in a water tub wall for discharging a water stream through a discharge orifice. Some of the disclosed assemblies are configured so that the discharge orifice travels along a defined or random path. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,689,839 and 4,726,080, whose disclosures are, by reference, incorporated herein, describe tap water powered hydrotherapy apparatus in which a water stream is discharged from a discharge orifice into a tub below the water surface and energy derived from the supplied tap water causes the discharge orifice to move along a travel path.
Applicants' parent application Ser. No. 688,292, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,106, discloses a hand held tap water powered water discharge apparatus selectively operable in a continuous shower mode, a pulsed shower mode, and a submergible hydromassage mode. The preferred apparatus described therein includes a sealed housing preferably configured to be held in a user's hand and mounted on the free end of a flexible tap water supply hose. A user operable mode selector valve determines the mode of the water discharged from the housing. A jet pump is mounted in the housing which, in the hydromassage mode, uses the supplied tap water to entrain tub water. The combined tap-tub water flow is then used to entrain air to form a water-air stream, which is discharged from the housing for massaging a user's body. The preferred apparatus includes a discharge orifice mounted for movement along a travel path as the water stream is discharged therefrom.
A related apparatus is described in Applicants' U.S. application Ser. No. 688,043, filed Apr. 19, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,459. This application describes an electric pump powered submergible hand held apparatus for discharging a water stream for massaging a user's body. The apparatus includes a hand held housing mounted on the free end of a flexible hose. An electric pump draws in tub water and supplies it under pressure for flow through the hose to a nozzle which discharges a water jet into a cavity to create a suction therein. The suction is able to draw air and/or tub water into the cavity for mixing with the water jet discharged from the nozzle. Valve means are provided enabling the user to selectively open either the air port (to cause air entrainment) or the tub water port (to cause water entrainment). The housing preferably includes a discharge orifice mounted for movement along a travel path as the water stream is discharged therefrom.
The references cited in the prosecution histories of said applications Ser. Nos. 688,292 and 688,043 describe a variety of hand held devices for discharging water streams for impacting against a user's body. One device of particular interest is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,256 issued Jul. 16, 1991, entitled "Jet Nozzle Attachment" by Mikiya, and in his related patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,933,999 and 5,058,220. These patents discuss a hand held jet nozzle attachment intended to be coupled via a hose to a compressed hot water jet hole. The attachment includes a change-over valve 16 which can be operated by the user to direct a supplied jet stream out through either a jet hole 26 for massage or past an impeller to a plurality of shower jet holes 32. Air is introduced downstream from the change-over valve 16 for mixing with the supplied jet stream, i.e., via path 50 (FIG. 11) into chamber 25, to form the massage stream prior to discharge through jet hole 26.
Another device of interest is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,943 issued Jan. 22, 1991, entitled "Two-Stage Adjustable Hydrotherapeutic Jet and Method", by Tobias. This patent discusses an electric pump powered jet assembly intended to be mounted to a water tub wall. The assembly employs three nozzles and two separate mixing chambers. A primary stream of water flows through the first nozzle to create a low pressure condition which sucks air into the first mixing chamber. The primary stream comprising a water-air mixture is discharged through the second nozzle into the second mixing chamber, thereby creating another low pressure condition which sucks a secondary stream of water from the tub into the second mixing chamber and hence causes the aerated primary stream to be entrained with the secondary stream. The air/water mixture is then discharged from the second mixing chamber into the tub via the third nozzle.
A still further device of interest is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,665 by Spinnett which shows a cylindrical member mounted for rotation and defining a passageway therethrough configured so that water and air flow through the passageway causes the member to rotate.
Tap water powered water discharge devices, as contrasted with electric pump powered devices should be capable of operating at supply pressures as low as 20 pounds per square inch (p.s.i.) and at relatively low flow rates, e.g., equal to or less than 3.0 gallons per minute (g.p.m.), because of the limited quantity of hot water usually available and the general appropriateness of conserving water. In order to achieve satisfactory hydromassage action at these pressures and flow rates, it is essential to derive as much energy as possible from the tap water supply flow.
Additional U.S. patents of interest include:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,411 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,530,852 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,442 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,949 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,132 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,488 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,462 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,691 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,888 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,510 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,474 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,864